May 8, 2018
Publisher: Tanglewood
ISBN: 978-1939100160
Description from the Publisher:
After witnessing an act of domestic terrorism while training on his bike, Jake is found near death, with a serious head injury and unable to remember the plane crash or the aftermath that landed him in the hospital.
A terrorist leader’s teenage daughter, Betsy, is sent to kill Jake and eliminate him as a possible witness. When Jake’s mother blames his head injury for his tales of attempted murder, he has to rely on his girlfriend, Laurissa, to help him escape the killers and the law enforcement agents convinced that Jake himself had a role in the crash.
About the Author:
Mike Mullin’s first job was scraping the gum off the undersides of desks at his high school. From there, things went steadily downhill. He almost got fired by the owner of a bookstore due to his poor taste in earrings. He worked at a place that showed slides of poopy diapers during lunch (it did cut down on the cafeteria budget). The hazing process at the next company included eating live termites raised by the resident entomologist, so that didn’t last long either. For a while Mike juggled bottles at a wine shop, sometimes to disastrous effect. Oh, and then there was the job where swarms of wasps occasionally tried to chase him off ladders. So he’s really glad this writing thing seems to be working out. Mike lives in Danville, Indiana with his wife and her three cats. His debut novel, Ashfall, was named one of the top five young adult novels of 2011 by National Public Radio, a Best Teen Book of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews, and a New Voices selection by the American Booksellers Association. Learn more at: mikemullinauthor.com
My Review:
Surface Tension by Mike Mullin features dynamic characters fighting for their lives in a compelling plot of murder and mayhem.
There are many elements to praise about Surface Tension, including its interesting premise and well-told story. There were also a few things that made me scrunch my forehead in frustration. These included hard to believe elements in the plot line and character behaviors, forced dialogue, and a nonlinear timeline. A nonlinear timeline by itself is not an issue; however, in Surface Tension, when the point of view would shift from Jake to Betsy or vice versa, sometimes the story would jump backward in time, which often left me confused and forced me to read the passage again.
Some of my favorite lines from the book:
"It's not easy growing up with a memory instead of a mother." (page 52)
"I ride fast, trying to out-pedal all my doubts and fears." (page 138)
[I received a copy of this book from SoCal Public Relations in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.]
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